Walk This Way: The Unexpected Health Benefits Of Stepping Out

Often when we think of beginning a fitness regime, we picture energetic classes such as Zumba or CrossFit, grueling sessions tackling weights in the gym or even starting a training plan for a running event like a marathon. But it’s the health benefits of walking that can make a big difference to your everyday life, but that is often overlooked. As well as helping to shed calories, walking can be a functional exercise that takes you from A-B without having to be separately scheduled in. Blasting excess calories, having massive benefits on your mental health, preventing diabetes and lowering your blood pressure are just some of the lesser known upsides of logging the miles.

Boost Your Brain Power

Studies have shown that regularly choosing to make a journey on foot rather than hopping into your car can make you smarter! Yep, factoring in a walk has been shown to improve your memory and cognitive skills, and actually increase the size of your brain’s memory processing center. So the benefits could be as significant for your mind as for your body.

Makes You More Beautiful

Along with a host of health and mental benefits, walking can also have a cosmetic effect. By boosting the body’s circulation and helping to flush out toxins, you’ll be gaining clearer more glowing skin and giving a growing boost to your nails and hair, as well as encouraging skin cells to regenerate. Just make sure you have the right gear – all you really need is the right pair of walking shoes, or fit hi-tech, variable reflex insoles like the ones available at

Improve Your Relationships

In today’s fast-paced world we often fall back on electronic communication methods, which deprive us of the chance to nurture deeper, face-to-face connections. This can have a damaging effect on your sense of connectedness, leading you to feel lonely even while your phone is continuously pinging with social media notifications. Focus on putting the quality back into your personal connections by scheduling a walk with your partner, parent, best friend or child. Just 20 minutes gives uninterrupted quality time that you can use to properly catch up and have the kind of conversations it’s impossible to have over the phone or email. This is another boost to your mental wellbeing.

Help With Sleep Problems

More and more of us are finding it hard to get to sleep. Statistic show insomnia and sleeplessness are at an all-time high, with many feeling chronically tired. This has a far-reaching effect on our lives – impacting our emotional resilience, ability to think creatively and logically and even meaning our willpower is eroded and our diet choices are compromised. 15 minutes of exposure to daylight outside can work to reset your body clock and ease your body back into its natural circadian rhythms. If you work in a sedentary job, it also gives your body a chance to tire itself out and catch up with your tired mind.

Featured Image: Photo by Kaboompics // Karolina from Pexels https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-a-woman-s-sport-shoes-6346/

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14 thoughts on “Walk This Way: The Unexpected Health Benefits Of Stepping Out”

Me too! Its funny, when I start working out and being more active, I don’t want to stop. When I’ve stopped for awhile, I don’t want to start. Our bodies like to stay in a rhythm, so I guess the key is not stopping. 🙂

Walking definitely has many benefits. Another is it helps us feel more like we can accomplish other exercises. I haven’t been able to walk more than 40 feet with a walker in a long time although, I’m hoping this summer will add to that. I feel deprived and won’t take walking for granted again.

I’ve been walking almost 5 days a week for the past 2 years and seeing a lot of health benefits. Your article is a refresher to me and love the way you have broken down the benefits in different sections. Apart from all the health benefits, I find walking to be therapeutic!

Walking is the only exercise I am allowed to do, according to my doctor, because it is low impact. I wish i could do more, but I am fine with just walking. It is part of my “me” time when I can literally “stop and smell the flowers.”

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Hi, Welcome to Heartfully Heather! I am a wife and mother of two rambunctious boys living in Northern Colorado after our brief stay on the Western Slope. We are transplants from the beautiful mountain town of Flagstaff Arizona. While I grew up in the Phoenix area, I moved to Flagstaff when I went to college at NAUwhere Igot my degree in journalism. Now my days are fueled by coffee and early morning snuggles from my two boys while getting them off to school. Then my work day begins in blogging, freelance writing, web design, advertising, some VA services and more. I want to work with local businesses. If you found my blog, it wasn’t by accident. Shoot me an email and let’s work together!